Selection of Dwarf Stature Yield Potential Lines from F3 Populations of White Maize (Zea mays L.)

'Dwarf stature' maize variety offers promises to withstand unfavorable growth environments of Kharif season. But, for developing such variety, dwarf stature inbred lines must be available. Here, twenty-four F3 populations of white maize were evaluated though assessment of their genetic variability, heritability, and character association for selection of dwarf stature promising lines based on yield and growth parameters. The populations were developed from F1 hybrids following the pedigree breeding method. Analysis of genetic variability showed that significant variations existed among the populations and the growth characters viz., plant height, cob height, number of grains row-1, and yield plant-1 showed the highest heritability and genetic advance. The correlation revealed that yield plant-1 was positively and significantly associated with plant height, cob length, cob diameter, and grains row-1. The path coefficient analysis indicated that plant height, cob length, cob diameter, rows cob-1, grains row-1 and 100-grain weight had positive and direct contributions towards yield indicating that these yield attributes might be considered for selection. Finally, based upon the criteria viz., plant height, maturity, base diameter, cob height, and yield potential, the lines G14 and G4 may be selected for high grain yield, while the lines G10, G11, G12, G1, G3, and G16 might be selected as promising dwarf stature lines for developing inbred lines.